A tiny promotional video with Erin from Lang Models shot at The Production Studio. Beauty is one of my favourite things to shoot in studio and when you work with the right talent and lighting you have to love the results.

Here are a few images from the shoot I had with Erin from Lang Models. With the right lighting, studio, model, MUA and photographer you can certainly have stunning results.

If you’ve ever done any product photography or casual foodie snapshots, you might be thinking that photographing beverages is a pretty straight-forward process, but you would be wrong, of course. Those commercials of mouth-watering Sprite, Coors, and so-forth are pretty involved.

Shooting glasses filled with drinks is an even more layered beast. The obvious challenge here is capturing enough light to highlight the condensation, but also keeping the picture balanced and not too overwhelmed with bright lights bouncing all over. Use some of these tips to help you navigate this foreign landscape with your camera and take great shots of your favorite booze and drinks.

MANAGE PRIMARY LIGHT

In order to get the best illumination of your glass’ contents, you’re going to want to place your primary light source behind your glass and the position of your camera. This keeps the light a bit more manageable and you can better adjust the amount you need in order to bring out the details of the drink and glass.

CREATE AMBIENCE

Just snapping photos on a colored or textured background isn’t enough to really grab the attention of the viewer, you’re going to want to add a bit of color that can enhance the presence of the drink. This works really well with little flavor suggestions to go with the drink, like a little lemon or lime, so you can add an accent light behind the drink to give it a nice “pop” against the background.

FEATURING INGREDIENTS

To borrow off the last tip, a nice way to break up uniformity in a product photo like this is to lay out small samples of the ingredients that are used in the production of the drink. You could add them in later with post-production, but it’s very charming to go through the extra effort of picking a few pieces of barley, cherries, or vanilla beans, for example, to lay beside the cold, tasty glass and evoke those flavors subconsciously in the viewer.

TRY OUT DIFFERENT CONTAINERS

Unless you have your own branded glasses that the customer can purchase, it’s a good idea to present your beverage in a container that best compliments the personality of your beverage. You don’t want your drink to be associated with “average” or “boring” cups that you can find in any grandma’s cupboard. Be creative and take a few shots with various containers, you never know how they’ll look.

GET FROSTY

You want an insider secrete on how to get the perfect amount of condensation on your glass without having to wait for it to naturally happen? Place your glass into the freeze ten minutes before your shoot, then pour your beverage and watch as the cold exterior collects with little beads of thirst-motivators. Everyone loves an ice cold drink.

LET LOOSE

Don’t think too hard about your photoshoot. Nerves can ruin a photo more than forgetting to bring a specific light or prop. When you’re in a creative and playful mood, you get results that may surprise yourself, because you’ll be thinking about what a customer would love to see, not what is purely technically sound or advised.

I was delighted to work with Fran a last month at The Production Studio. Fran is a great model who was effortless in front of the camera. In 10 mins we got some great images and used the same, simple 4 light setup to help achieve glowing skin and subtle shadows.

I have the honour of working again with Fran this evening leading a lighting/photography workshop. I have run over 200 classes over the past 2.5 years and look forward to working with hobbyists and professionals in building their knowledge and photography books.

I am excited to have rebranded both my personal work and studio spaces within the past few months. Pires Photography is now open at The Production Studio and offers 4 unique studios to help in commercial work ranging from product to fashion photography to headshots and families.

There is nothing more flattering than having someone want to work with you again on a project. I had the honour of helping Lesley Hampton with her latest lookbook and #BeBodyAware campaign with Tia Duffy.

Images and Lookbook

#BeBodyAwareCampaign

It was such an honour to take images for this great suit company here in Toronto.

The Suit Inc allows men to create their own custom suits and shirts by allowing them to select every style, colour and fabric.

I was able to photograph every detail, lookbook and hero image for the website and I am so happy with the result. Take a look at their website www.thesuit.com and take a look at the variety of hero images for the brand that I created below.

It was a great experience to put together this lookbook for Lesley Hampton Designs. Take a look at the video, lookbook and images to help in the branding for Fashion Arts Toronto of this incredible and unique collection.

My photography has certainly undergone a revolution over the years. It started when I was in university and digital SLR cameras first came out. I had the first Canon Rebel and used it mostly for shooting some events for my workplace and trips. I'll never forget the excitement I would feel when I got a shot I really loved.

As I became immersed in photography, I started to combine my love of the arts and my studies in architecture, to look at things differently. I also was able to start to photograph ballerinas and instantly a new passion was ignited.

Model and dancer Alayna Kellet at the AGO wearing Starkers Corsetry

While I learned photography almost in reverse (learning studio lighting before how to work in natural light), I have enjoyed photographing in many natural lighting situations and in particular at the AGO. Thanks to working in a great space with great talent like Alayna & Starkers Corsetry (www.starkers.com/), I cannot argue with the results. I hope that you like the images as much as I do.

Facebook reminded me that it has been roughly 4 years since I started this journey in photography. I have learned so much and it has been a blessing to me in my life to be able to create artwork with other professionals in the industry or just walking around this city.

One of the first images that I shot and edited back in 2012.

Now in 2016, I am much more confident in my abilities and consistently trying to push myself forward. I'll be opening up a 3 studio complex in Mississauga (The Production Studio) with my business partner Phil Sutherland, who is a great photographer and friend. We have learned a lot together and excited for the opportunities ahead. I can't wait to show everyone photos of the new space in March.

2016 is shaping up to be a great year. Opening up a studio last year has opened up many doors and certainly inspired me to do larger and grander projects. The teaming up with models, makeup artists and stylists have certainly elevated the quality of work that I have been able to produce. I'm looking forward to opening some more photographic studios in the coming months and push the boundaries of my work. To follow my journey daily, follow me on instagram @piresphoto

Working with Elle from NYC was such a pleasure this past weekend. Her beauty and professionalism has given me the problem of having too many images to choose from. Here is one image from our first set.

This week marks the beginning of a new chapter for Pires Photography as I will be part of a collective opening a new studio space. More details will be posted shortly but here are some teasers of the new 1600 square foot space.

Yesterday I was able to attend an amazing lighting tutorial at Revprint studios and work with Mali. She is a lovely young model who was wonderful in showing the effects of different lighting techniques. The setups were instructive in helping to see the lighting setups used not only for different skin tones and facial shapes, but also the style for any given person. I can't argue with the results. I just love these images.